If you see the water do this,
get out fast.
If you don't,
you might get caught in a riptide.
Every year, beach lifeguards
rescue tens of thousands of people.
Four out of five times,
it's from these rip currents,
also called riptides.
But you can avoid them.
Keep track of suspiciously calm areas
between the waves,
and watch for
different colors in different spots.
This could indicate
that a riptide is churning up
sand, sediment and seaweed.
But wait, what are they?
Rip currents are strong,
narrow channels of fast-moving
water flowing directly
away from the shore.
If you get caught in one,
you'll be pulled out into the lake
or ocean, further and further from shore.
They could form anytime.
When waves crash into the shoreline
or a sandbar,
it could concentrate the current.
As the incoming water
rushes back out to sea,
it could create a powerful rip current.
Your sunny day is about to turn into
a living nightmare scenario
that could kill you.
One moment you're splashing about,
enjoying the water.
The next, you’re knocked off your feet.
And the water is
dragging you away from the shore.
If you lose your balance,
the current could pull you down
along the bottom.
This is rare.
But if it happens,
the best thing you could do
is relax your body.
That will help
you come back to the surface.
Typically, rip currents move
at speeds of up to 0.6 m/s (2 ft/s),
but some have traveled at 2.5 m/s (8 ft/s).
And unfortunately,
you’re caught in a quick one.
Within seconds,
you're 12 m (40 ft) away from the shore.
And with each second,
the current will pull you further away.
Your first instinct would be to begin
swimming back to shore,
but that would waste your time
and energy.
Even an Olympic swimmer
would struggle to swim against a current
this fast.
If you aren't a strong swimmer
and you keep fighting the current,
you’ll feel exhausted and risk drowning.
And it’ll be hard to breathe.
The rip current would be pulling
you under the surface.
And then,
I'm sorry to say it,
but it would be game over for you.
But luckily, you’re watching this video.
So if you do get caught
in this life-threatening situation,
you’ll know what to do.
The best thing would be to relax.
Don’t fight against the powerful current.
Instead,
swim away from it on a 90-degree angle,
parallel to the shoreline.
That wouldn’t
get you any closer to safety, would it?
Surprisingly, it would.
Eventually, you'd swim to a place
where the current weakens
and stops pulling you outward.
Generally, riptides are only
about 25 m (80 ft) in width.
If you don't struggle directly
against the water's flow,
you likely won't have to swim too much
to escape the current.
Now, you're free
from the powerful moving water,
so you should be able
to swim back to shore.
Or you could try to regain your strength
by floating on your back.
If you can do it,
this would also be a good time to call
or wave for help from a lifeguard.
Once back on shore,
you’d feel happy
that you’ve cheated death.
But the danger wouldn’t be over just yet.
Within 48 hours,
you could have a condition called
pulmonary edema.
While you were
struggling in the rip current,
you could have inhaled some water.
It could have reached your lungs
and irritated their inner linings.
Then fluids may begin building up,
which could make it difficult to breathe.
You might start coughing,
feel sluggish and have chest pain.
Your body would be depriving
itself of oxygen.
If you weren’t
able to get to a hospital soon,
your lack of oxygen
could lead to permanent brain damage.
Or worse, death.
But now that you know the best method
to escape a riptide,
you’ll be less likely to struggle
against the rip current.
You might even spot the riptide
before you go in the water.
The best tip could be to avoid
the most dangerous beaches.
They include Mexico’s Playa Zipolite,
known as the Beach of the Dead.
And at Hawaii’s Hanakapiai Beach,
over 83 people have drowned
in the powerful rip currents.
Also don’t go doing something
crazy like trying to surf in a tsunami.
That’s a story for another WHAT IF.